Looks Over(Gives Light Series) (38 page)
I lingered in the front room after he had gone. The stack of letters on the computer desk had caught my eye. I rifled through them quickly, just to be sure none of them were for me.
One was for me--a letter from the Pleasance Reserve. I slit open the envelope eagerly and pulled out the paper inside.
Dear Skylar,
Thank you for the book you sent me. It was really cool. I didn't know there were that many Indian violinists.
Danny is gone. The white couple came to the reserve with a cop and they took him away. Mr. Patreya was yelling and I think he was crying and the cop put handcuffs around his wrists. Danny was crying, too, but I could tell he was trying not to, and the woman kept yelling at him to stop. Danny even bit her but they still took him away. Danny told me that if the white family ever came back for him he would run away, but this time they're planning on moving very far away and I don't know that he'll be able to find us. I'm scared. I'm also sad. I don't think I'll see him again. But I'm glad he came home for a little while. It was so nice.
Thank you for everything, and Mom said I can come to Nettlebush this summer, so I will see you in July.
Love,
Marilu
I read and re-read her letter until I was aware of very little else--not the volume in the next room, not the paper beneath my fingers. So it was that easy. It was that simple to take a little boy away from his home.
"--incredible batting average, right after an injury, too--"
The sound in my head clicked back on, the blood rushing to my ears. I gripped Marilu's letter until it wrinkled. I closed my eyes, smothering a sigh.
Little boy, I thought, I hope you find your way home, too.
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Thirty-two out of fifty states are abusing the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The state of South Dakota removes seven hundred Native American children from their homes every year. Only 3% of the children removed actually come from abusive homes.
For the state of South Dakota, kidnapping Native American children is a lucrative business. The federal government grants the state $150,000 for each Native American child placed in foster care. An additional $12,000 is granted to the state when the child is adopted by a white family.
Native American families have been fighting for years for the return of their missing children. You can join the fight by visiting:
http://lakotalaw.org
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Shoshone Glossary
Dosabite - White
Hinni? - What?
Ekkesah - Yawn
Natsugant - Shaman (lit. "Medicine Person")
Kitah - Quick
Tsikkinichi - Chicken
Nukkatun - Dance
Makan - Gives, Giving
Imaa - Light, Morning
Comanche - Corruption of "Kimanttsi" - Enemy
Tammattsi - Fool
Nu kee sakka tsao suwangkunna! - I don't like that!
So'o! - Enough!
Summi - Here
Puha - Spirit Guide (lit. "Power")
Toko - Grandpa (lit. "Mother's Father")
Aishen - Thank You
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Table of Contents
1 Computers Don't Work That Way
14 Girls Don't Dance with Girls
